EDITORIAL: Preserving Huntsville's textile mills heritage

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. _ It's hard to imagine what Huntsville would be today if not for the buildup of NASA, the Army and all the modern firms that permeate this sprawling city of more than 200 square miles.

Textiles dominated the economy a century ago. Mill villages abounded.

On the shoulders of those industrialists and civic leaders - many of whom came from Huntsville's mill neighborhoods - the city developed into the economic giant it is today.

The present seems to be overtaking our past like kudzu in a country hollow.

While it's great to tout our high-tech offerings, we must preserve the past.

In that spirit, leaders of the historic Merrimack Mill Village in west Huntsville have secured a spot on the coveted National Register of Historic Places.

The designation ends nearly a decade of effort involving many meetings and reams of back and forth paperwork by a lot of determined people.

The authorization covers 278 houses and other structures where rough-hewn Merrimack Mlll textile workers lived, worked and played from 1900 to 1989, when the factory closed (it was known as Huntsville Manufacturing then).

The factory complex was demolished three years later. The mill village is still defined by Victorian-era homes and smaller shotgun houses along streets laid out in a neat grid.

Organizers hope the historic designation will attract more young families who will buy and fix up the old mill houses.

Merrimack preservationists got a boost several years ago when Alan and Debra Jenkins led a multimillion-dollar renovation of Merrimack Hall - formerly a mill store and community center - into a successful performing arts venue.

A strong community watch program was started, and the neighborhood secured a controversial rezoning to protect its buffers.

Merrimack is the fifth Madison County neighborhood to earn a spot on the prestigious National Register, joining Old Town, Twickenham and older sections of Gurley and New Hope.

Applications are also pending for the Lincoln Mills area off Meridian Street, the Lowe Mill and Dallas Mill neighborhoods.

A place on the National Register of Historic Places does not bring added regulations as does designation as a local historic district. Rather, it recognizes the properties' historic significance and makes property owners there potentially eligible for tax breaks.

Historic designations are also a litmus test of sorts for how much a city - and the petitioner, whether a business group, school interests or an entire neighborhood - values its heritage and the greater community.

Hats off to today's Merrimack villagers for bringing this old mill village back to life.